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Gil Bates
|Row 4 title = Spouse(s): |Row 4 info = Kelly Bates (December 19, 1987 - present) |Row 5 title = Children: |Row 5 info = Zachary, Lawson, Nathan, Trace, Jackson, Warden, Isaiah, Judson & Jeb (sons) Michaela, Erin, Alyssa, Tori, Carlin, Josie, Addallee, Ellie & Callie-Anna (daughters) |Row 6 title = Parents: |Row 6 info = Bill Bates (father) Jane Bates (mother) |Row 7 title = Siblings: |Row 7 info = Greg (brother) Jennifer (sister) |Row 8 title = Other family: |Row 8 info = Bradley, Carson & Kade (grandsons) Kaci, Khloé, Brooklyn, Everly, Holland, Allie, Lexi, Zoey, Willow & Layla (granddaughters) |Row 9 title = Social media: |Row 9 info = Instagram }}William Gilvin "Gil" Bates (born January 1, 1965) is the patriarch of the Bates family. He is the husband of Kelly Bates with whom he has 19 children and 14 grandchildren. Early life William Gilvin "Gil" Bates was born on January 1, 1965, to Bill and Jane Bates in Honea Path, South Carolina. He was the couple's first child, and was followed by two more children. Gil was said to be obsessed with football from even a young age, having a uniform by the age of two and playing by the age of eight. As a child he attended Methodist churches. He attended Belton-Honea Path High School. In tenth grade, his football coach, Kenny Ashley, started a chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and soon after Gil became a Christian. He asked his parents for permission to attend Austin Road Baptist Church, which they granted. As a senior, Gil won the 1983 South Carolina State Wrestling Champion and was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler. Family Gil began college at Anderson University, where he met Kelly Jo Callaham. The two served on a the same ministry team, and when Gil needed tutoring for his chemistry class, Kelly Jo was the lab assistant. The two then transferred to Carson Newman University. Gil proposed to Kelly while they were still in school. Gil and Kelly got married on December 19, 1987. Fatherhood Although Gil and Kelly had expected to not start having children until they had been married for five years, Kelly got pregnant only a few months after getting married, and on December 30, 1988, the couple's first child, Zachary Gilvin, was born. Just over a year later, Zach was joined by a sister, Michael Christian, on January 23, 1990. Kelly quickly got pregnant again, and by this point Gil said he "got excited about having children". This child, Erin Elise, was born on May 2, 1991, and was joined by sixteen more: William Lawson was born on July 27, 1992, Kenneth Nathaniel was born on August 29, 1993, Alyssa Joy was born on November 9, 1994, Tori Layne was born on December 20, 1995, Trace Whitfield was born on February 1, 1997, Carlin Brianne was born on April 11, 1998, Josie Kellyn was born on August 4, 1999, Katie Grace was born on October 5, 2000, Jackson Ezekiel was born on February 17, 2002, Warden Justice was born on May 19, 2003, Isaiah Courage was born on October 16, 2004, Addallee Hope was born on February 17, 2006, Ellie Bridge was born on April 28, 2007, Callie-Anna Rose was born on August 2, 2009, Judson Wyatt was born on September 15, 2010 and Jeb Colton was born on February 2, 2012. Gil is a very involved father, and does his best to spend as much quality time with his children as possible. At her graduation party in 2016, Carlin said she aspired to be like her father, saying, "He’s always been faithful in the little things. He’s steady in the Lord. Whatever he does, he doesn’t lose his cool." Grandchildren On November 2, 2013, Gil's daughter Erin married Chad Paine. The couple has three children, Charles Stephen "Carson" (born May 14, 2015), Brooklyn Elise (born August 6, 2016) and Everly Hope (born March 30, 2018). They are expecting their fourth child, another girl. On December 14, 2013, Gil's son Zachary married Whitney Perkins. The couple has three children, Bradley Gilvin (born October 29, 2014), Kaci Lynn (born May 20, 2016) and Khloé Eileen (born November 7, 2019). On May 24, 2014, Gil's daughter Alyssa married John Webster. The couple has three children, Allie Jane (born April 11, 2015), Lexi Mae (born January 26, 2017) and Zoey Joy (born March 28, 2018). On August 15, 2015, Gil's daughter Michaela married Brandon Keilen. The couple currently does not have any children, and has been vocal about their struggles with infertility. On December 16, 2017, Gil's daughter Tori married Bobby Smith. The couple has one child, Robert "Kade" Ellis (born November 9, 2018). They are expecting their second child, another boy. On October 5, 2018, Gil's daughter Josie married Kelton Balka. The couple has one child, Willow Kristy (born July 19, 2019). On May 25, 2019, Gil's daughter Carlin married Evan Stewart. They are expecting their first child, a daughter. Career Excavating Gil owns a tree excavating company, Bates Tree Service. As his sons have grown old enough to help, he has employed them in this business as well. He acknowledges that it's a dangerous job, even when you take safety precautions. "We've had some close calls, and I get awful nervous, but we've had no mishaps, thank the Lord." Even with this business, however, Gil also struggles to make ends meet. His son, Lawson, opened his own lawn care business as a young teenager, and Gil often relied on teenage Lawson's income to help make ends meet. Pastor In September of 2015, Gil opened his own church, Bible Baptist Church, in Clinton, Tennessee. Gil is still the pastor there today. He also serves on the board of directors for the Institute in Basic Life Principles. Television Gil Bates and his family's close family friends, the Duggar family, premiered their own reality show, 17 Kids and Counting, on TLC in 2008. In the episode "When Big Families Collide", which aired on October 13, 2008, the show's viewers were introduced to the Bates family. Gil and his family went on to appear in a number of episodes in the show's ten season run. On March 13, 2012, a special episode of the show, "The Bates Family: And Baby Makes 19" premiered, which served as a sort of re-introduction to the family before the premiere of their own TLC show, United Bates of America, on August 13, 2012. The show ran for one season, before announcing on October 6, 2012, that it had been canceled. On November 18, 2014, the family announced they had begun filming for a second reality show, Bringing Up Bates. Bringing Up Bates, which premiered on UpTV on January 1, is currently in its sixth season. Sexual assault scandal On October 20, 2015, a lawsuit was filed against the Institute in Basic Life Principles and its board members, which included Gil Bates. The lawsuit was filed by five women who claimed the experienced "sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate/unauthorized touching" while working at IBLP. David Gibbs III, son of IBLP member David Gibbs, Jr., owned one of the law firms that represented the case. This lawsuit followed an internal investigation that IBLP conducted about sexual abuse allegations in 2014, which the plaintiffs felt was not handled properly. After the initial internal investagtion, IBLP's founder, Bill Gothard, had resigned on March 5, 2014. On November 13, 2015, the board of directions released a statement claiming that the lawsuit was misplaced, with Bill Gothard being the only source of misbehavior. Due to the fact that none of the board members at that time had been on the board when the plaintiffs were working for the Institute, they felt confident that they were not at fault, and stressed that no members of the board had been involved in any sort of cover-up. On December 2, 2015, the complaint was dismissed due to failing to state the necessary facts. On January 6, 2016, a second lawsuit was filed. This lawsuit named Bill Gothard, but dropped the allegations against the individual board members, which included Gil. It still was against the corporation as a whole. Gallery GilKelly-Wedding.jpg|Gil and Kelly at their wedding in 1987. Gil-January19.jpg|Gil in January 2019. Gil-December19.jpg|Gil in December 2019. Gil-January20.jpeg|Gil in January 2020. Category:Bates Category:Married Category:Parents Category:Grandparents